Images of the Self
by Pulsar
Summary: Short story based on a couple that appears to be somewhat neglected on this site... someone else write about these two!


Carlie/Kevin

Okay, this short fanfic came about solely because I recently noticed an apparent lack of stories centered around what happens to be my favorite couple in the game. I don't know why people don't write more about these two: I suppose the other couplings get more attention because fans see more story ideas in them or something. (If you want to see more of this, just let me know: I want to know who else likes this couple!) I don't own the rights to Seiken Densetsu 3 or its characters; I'm just using them in a fanfic idea.

This is set after the team finds the seventh Mana Stone, defeats the guardian there, and obtains Luna. The members in this are: Charlotte, who is currently a Priestess, Kevin, who is currently a Monk, and Riesz, currently a Valkyrie. This has some spoilers if you haven't played the game up to at least this point, so be warned!

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In the free city of Maia, night filled the cobalt sky with glittering stars. If any travelers had come to the town just then, they would have had to sleep out under these stars, for the inn was currently completely booked up. Despite this inconvenience, few people questioned the fact that it only had three beds to rent: most similar establishments were set up like this anyway, and few people did much traveling with the current outbreak of monsters.

Inside, the three lucky adventurers who had managed to actually secure the beds for the night were sprawled upon them, and the sound of snoring filled the air. However, only two of the trio were actually sleeping: the third member was currently staring up at the ceiling with huge, shimmering eyes of the same color as the sky, only a much brighter hue. Long curls of blonde hair framed a childish face, one that tended to mislead people to assume that the owner was only around six or seven years old.

In actuality, Charlotte was fifteen. Thanks to her elven blood, however, she only looked about half that. It was useful, sometimes: since she looked like a little kid, she didn't have to act like a responsible grown-up, didn't have to correct her speech when she slurred a word here or there, and opponents tended to underestimate her abilities… at least, until they saw just how strong her healing magic was.

But at the same time… Charlotte often found herself wishing that she looked at least a little older. Especially when she looked at Riesz, and saw how most men glanced in the pretty young amazon's direction, occasionally staring after her as she passed, blissfully unaware of the attention she was getting.

Guys never looked at Charlotte that way. They saw her the same way everyone else did, as a child. Even if they knew that she was actually fifteen, they would probably still ignore her, not wanting to seem like they had some sort of Lolita complex or something.

Riesz was only one year older than her, and in many ways, they weren't that different: in fact, Charlotte had once told the amazon that they were a lot alike – except that she felt Charlotte was much prettier. It was too bad that men didn't feel the same way…

This, however, was not what was currently causing her to keep staring at the ceiling when she should have been fast asleep and buried in her dreams. In fact, it was partially the fault of one of her dreams – no, a nightmare – that she was this way.

Earlier, they had traveled to the Moonlight Forest in order to find the Spirit Luna and the Moon Mana Stone. Of course, they hadn't gone unopposed, but that was no problem: since the forest was cast in eternal night, Kevin had been able to use his beast form, which had given them more of an edge against the wolves and werewolves they had run into there. Between Kevin's raw power, Riesz's skill with the spear, and her healing abilities, they had been able to make their way through the woods with relative ease…

…Until they had finally reached the tower.

Since he was half-beastman, Kevin had more finely tuned senses than his comrades did, and when he had suddenly stopped short in his tracks, Riesz wondered aloud if he was aware of something they weren't. Then, when he abruptly launched himself howling and snarling into the brush… right through the brush… the two girls were so startled that for a few seconds they just stared at the gaping hole his forceful passing had left in the foliage and sweatdropped.

"…If we had the Wood Spirit right now, do you think she'd be throwing a fit over what he just did to those bushes?" Riesz finally asked weakly after a short hesitation, pointing dumbly at where he had broken through.

Before Charlotte could respond, a terrible scream pierced the air, a howl of complete outrage and loss that she barely recognized as Kevin's voice. Both girls had exchanged a shocked look, then went racing after their friend…

The scene they had come across still haunted the half-elven girl: Kevin lying motionless on the ground, unnaturally still, spellbound. And standing over him was the same strange spellcasting man who had taken Heath away from her.

Seeing the weirdo again both terrified and enraged the girl, but despite the violent pounding of her heart, she demanded that he give Heath back to her. Sucking up her courage, she charged, only to be knocked backward as easily as a swatted fly. Then, he had said… no, it couldn't be true. She refused to believe anything that liar claimed about her Heath. Heath would never… do such a thing…

A tear rolled down Charlotte's face, leaving a moist streak against her cheek, and she sat up, burying her face in her hands.

Her enemy had a name now; Kevin had told her later that the weirdo spellcaster was called Deathjester by the beastmen. The half-beastman had also explained that the creep was responsible for his friend Karl's death, and he would never forgive him. It was ironic, really: all this time they had traveled together, and neither had realized that they were looking for the same guy.

Unfortunately, Deathjester had escaped – which was a shame, since Charlotte thought that even a REALLY big spanking wouldn't punish this monster enough – thanks to the sudden arrival of some big hairy guy called Lugar. The hulking beastman insisted on finishing off Kevin himself, and the twisted little jester had fled…

But at least Kevin had been freed from whatever spell the weirdo had put on him after Deathjester backed off. If he hadn't… hadn't been alright… then Charlotte and Riesz would have stood little chance against the transformed beastman, that was for sure.

But… that wasn't the only reason that Charlotte was glad he was okay.

Seeing him… seeing Kevin helpless and motionless had scared her, frightened her even worse than most of the nasty monsters and bad guys they had to face each passing moment. Kevin, who had acted as her bodyguard and protector ever since they had joined forces… the unstoppable half-beastman who plowed through his opponents… the most powerful guy she knew… defeated and broken, eerily still… the thought horrified her. Then, too, was the fact that the one who had done this to him happened to be the same creep who had taken her Heath away…

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He almost took Kevin away, too.

The thought sent a shudder coursing down Charlotte's spine, and she glanced over at where Kevin was sprawled out on his bed. The half-beastman was snoring loudly, completely oblivious to the world around him, even to the fact that one of his teammates was currently staring at him from a few feet away. He seemed utterly content, comfortable, and Charlotte smiled: from looking at him, one could hardly guess that so many horrible things had happened to him in his short lifetime.

He had nearly… died… earlier, first thanks to Deathjester, then later when they had fought Lugar. Even though it was obvious that the two beastmen knew one another, that hadn't kept Lugar from trying to tear Kevin's throat out… nor Kevin from defending himself and his friends with everything he had. Yet despite this, when Lugar 

Charlotte rubbed the back of her head absently: there was a small knot back there, the remains of a nasty blow she had taken during the fight. She vaguely recalled the details: in the middle of preparing a Holy Ball spell, she had been startled when Lugar suddenly seized the front of her tunic, and they had gone flipping end over end… The next thing she recalled clearly was waking up with a huge headache, Riesz gently helping her up and discarding an empty Angel's Grail, tossing the drained cup to one side as they turned to help Kevin, locked in one-on-one combat with Lugar…

She winced; even several healing spells later, her head still throbbed a little. Whatever had happened must have been pretty bad if she could still feel pain from it after taking an Angel's Grail…

Lugar had nearly destroyed them… yet after the battle, Kevin had knelt by the huge warrior's side and told him to hang on, that he would be okay now. When Lugar had stopped breathing, Kevin had howled for him… cried for the same man who seconds before had been trying to murder the half-beastman and his friends. Tears streaking down his dark cheeks, he begged Luna to help his former opponent… how could he be so concerned over an enemy?

Simple: that was just how Kevin was. As shocked as Charlotte had been at first as she watched him weep over his opponent's fallen form, at the same instant, she understood: this was just Kevin being himself. This was the same Kevin who had carried her to the nearest inn after she landed on his head, and waited for her to awaken before continuing on his way; the guy who promised to protect her when they met again later; the one who comforted her when she learned of her grandfather's illness, who kept her moving forward when all hope seemed lost…

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The Kevin she was falling in love with.

It really wasn't fair: they were the same age, yet Charlotte appeared so much younger than the half-beastman. But just because she looked like a child, did not mean she couldn't have feelings for others like a grownup…

Kevin was the most powerful guy she had ever met, and certainly the most unique with his bloodlines. It seemed perfect, in a sense: he was half-beastman, and she was half-elven. They were the same…

…No. Not the same. He actually looked his age, while she… It just wasn't FAIR! Why couldn't she look older, more like…

__

…More like Riesz.

She wasn't jealous of Riesz, of course, but why was it that the amazon princess, who was only one year older than her, looked exactly the way that Charlotte pictured her older self? Long, shimmering golden blonde hair… eyes like crystalline pools that threatened to drown anyone who remained lost in their depths for too long… slender figure that managed to look attractive without a huge chest (and how DID people like Angela keep their balance, anyway?! Charlotte always wondered how anyone could move when weighed down in such a fashion… well, if one gets used to it, she supposed…)

Riesz was, to put it bluntly, the living, breathing embodiment of what Charlotte imagined her older form would be.

Especially since Charlotte had the sneaking suspicion that Kevin had a crush on the amazon princess.

If that was the case, then she felt bad for him, since Riesz had shown a glimmer of interest in the silver-haired thief they ran into now and then… what was his name? Hawk… Hawkeye? But he seemed to have a thing for this Jessica they had rescued… if that was the case, poor Riesz. Poor Kevin.

Poor, poor Charlotte…

Sighing, Charlotte let herself collapse backward, wincing as her still somewhat sore head impacted the soft pillow. Really, just how bad had the blow been…? Hopefully, she'd feel better after some rest, they had to start looking for the last Mana stone in the morning. According to the king of Forcena, it was somewhere in the Lampflower Forest… she'd be back at her other home, so they should be able to find it quickly, right?

As her shimmering sapphire eyes drifted shut again, the half-elf couldn't keep another tear from rolling down her cheek. At least in her dreams, she could be a full-grown woman… but why couldn't the fantasy last beyond her own imagination?


End file.
